once upon a midnight dreary...

By any name (Samhain, Halloween or All Hallow's Eve) I hope you all have a safe and fun evening!

stolen

This blog post idea from Peonies and Polaroids, that is. (Again, you ask? Isn't this lady simple amazing? She never ceases to inspire me.) I was reading her blog and she has been posting about those kinds of quizzes and questionnaires people invariably send one another. And while I do fill many out (mostly out of sheer boredom), I have yet to feel compelled to make one part of this dear little Wedding blog (really, someday, I will get back to the point of this blog). But for whatever strange reason I simple could not resist this one. I like the use of pictures and the explanation thereafter. Please for the three people who actually read this blog, I tag you and request that you either post on this or send me an email with your own results. Thanks!

I used one of those mosaic makers (gosh, I love them and wish I had thought about using them before) and it lets you add links of the pictures you find. Go to Flickr (and if you don't have an account, you should by the way). Type on your answer and choose one of the images from the first page that comes up. You can either choose to explain why you picked it or not.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you attend?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you?
12. Your Flickr name?

Here are some reasons behind the photos I chose.

1. Mostly, I chose this picture because it reminds me of the beautiful sunsets we have here at this time of the year. It's always been my favorite season and well, I do love wild flowers.
2. It's a joke, a combination of my favorite food and the Boy. This picture is perfect because it combines so many aspects of our relationship and individual personalities.
3. I know where this is taken.
4. It's a gorgeous color. Thank you Bob Ross for introducing it to me.
5. I couldn't really think of one. Mine are mostly from books and are long dead. However the Boy and I do enjoy his show.
6. Mmmm, I could use one now.
7. It's where I wanted to take the Boy on our honeymoon. I've always adored that land.
8. Yum. It's the one kind of cake I do like.
9. I thought about choosing what I hoped for a career but that has changed over the last 10 years and I don't know if it will change again. So, though it be the cheesier answer, I'd like to see the Boy and I be this happy old couple still enjoying each other's company as we do now.
10. You should see my house. It's filled to the brim but there's always room for more, much to the Boy's chagrin.
11. Changes coming soon?
12. I wish I had made this.

1. Queen Anne kind of sky, 2. Is Served!, 3. on the Hill, 4. The Storm of Pthalo, 5. Mike Rowe (0), 6. March 1st, 7. sei bbella Romaaaaaa, 8. Swirl Cheesecake, 9. friends, 10. Love to Read.....3, 11. "'hopeful', 12. Where to Next? The Sky's the Limit

Flora and Fauna

I think it's high time I get to talking about some of the flowers I've come to love and want to incorporate into the wedding. Since we're on a budget and I'd love to do as much as possible myself (yes, I'm a DIY Bride), I've been trying to come up with cost effective yet gorgeous ideas for floral arrangements.

These, so far, have come to the top of the list in being cost-friendly, (fairly) easily procured, and not at all a monster of a task days before the wedding to set up. To top it off, I think they'd blend nicely with the Asian garden venue of our wedding as well as my style sensibilities.

1) Kangaroo Paws

Over the Labour Day weekend, my best friend (and Maid of Honor) came home for a short visit. While visiting her at her parents house, I found myself entranced by these strange yet beautiful branches of reds, oranges and greens nestled in corners all over their stylish home. I asked said BF what in the heck they were and hence the discovery of kangaroo paws! Look closely and they really do look like tiny little baby kangaroo paws (so aptly named). You wouldn't think we were the mature ladies we claimed to be with all the running around the kitchen with little blossoms pretending to be kangaroos looking for their lost paws we did. But I think that is the mark of a good friend, one who cherishes the ability to be at once mature and responsible and able to melt into childish peals of glee upon the discovery of a charming new toy. I hope our guests find the same ghoulish delight in playing with them as we did.

MOH's mother cut off some branches from the bushes growing in their backyard and I got many weeks of pleasure in looking at them.

(pictures by me)

I was thinking of putting them in light blue vases like these that show off their simple and architectural beauty.

(image from miss_armour)

2) Chinese Lanterns

Many years ago when the best friend and I decided to study abroad in jolly old England (very early in mine and the Boy's relationship), we happen on this exquisitely charming little plant in a Nottingham garden. Thanks to our British friends, I found these tiny darlings and have since longed to have a bush planted in my yard (not at all feasible at the moment).

Don't you just love the pops of red, orange and green (hmmm, I just now realize they had this in common with the kangaroo paws). They're so cute and Asian via the British Isles. I think they'd be fantastic in nice old urns like this picture below or in taller vintage teapots (the more rust the better!). I wonder if they're available in the States (I've never seen them); I may have to hunt them down and try my hand at growing them if not readily available in plant form.

(image from birdfarm)

How's about this lovely image. I like the idea of putting some lantern flowers in blue bowls. It add some visual interest combined with the height in some of the other arrangements I've been envisioning.

(Image from looseends)

And where oh where could I find these? Anybody know?

(image from OiMax)

3) Cherry Blossoms

I have always loved these trees. They make me smile and I'm ever so glad that the garden has cherry blossom trees. And I believe they'll be in bloom around the time of the wedding. So as a nod to that (and my long-lasting devotion to the girly delicate flowers), I think I'd like a branch of cherry blossoms in a simple vase to adorn the guest book table.

around the bend

I have been feeling rather uninspired lately (it probably doesn't help that I've been under the weather the past two weeks as well) so I'm sorry I've sadly neglected my blog. Not that I think there are many readers but cest la vie. I suppose this blog is for my own sake rather than anyone else. It'll be something nice to reread once all this wedding business has settled down a bit.

So not a real entry but here are a few shots from the last time we visited our wedding venue. I still love it.

This is the lovely view our guests will be treated to when they enter the garden. I love Japanese maples; they're so dark and alluring. I haven't decided whether I'll be walking down this winding road or another. But I do love bends in the road and the fact that I won't be fully revealed all at once to my guests keeps this as a possibility. It keeps the suspense going a little longer.


We'll be getting hitched under this beautiful pergola. I don't think it'll need much decorating because it has lovely green vines that have twisted and wound all around it. I like the idea of leaving it as it is and letting the natural beauty of the shady greens and the tinkling sounds of the waterfall and splashing koi fish behind us enchant our guests. It'll be the perfect backdrop to the casual and uncluttered ceremony we're planning on.


A view from behind. Perhaps what I'll be seeing if I decide to enter the ceremony from this direction instead. We've been allowed the use of the building in the back so perhaps my bridesmaids and I will dress there and come out from there. It'd be an interesting walk in heels.

I'm thinking about using this area for the guest book table. It's a neat little path that leads from the ceremony site to the reception. Behind the bamboo wall lies more bonsai treats for nature lovers. Maybe tall stark kangaroo paws arranged in a simple tall vase would blend nicely in the Asian Zen feeling of the gardens. Where oh where will my birds belong?

The Boy didn't know I was taking pictures of him but I was thrilled by the reception site. It's a lovely curved open space that hugs the other side of the building (the one that you could see from the koi pond). Can't you imagine strings of paper lanterns and yards and yards of floaty material strung from the tops? Dance floor for those who want to dance and maybe the sweetheart table in front of the ceremonial gates. Only, I'd like our friends and family to be close by too. We'll have to work on those seating arrangements. But the place: isn't there such scope for the imagination?

Blue skies and shady bamboo groves: Asian influence without even trying. How's that for incorporating cultures?